People
Current group members
Dr Lewis Alcott
I'm a biogeochemist interested in answering multidisciplinary questions associated with Earth surface processes and events including past, present and future environmental change.
Drawing on samples collected through field work, ocean exploration and geochemistry, my research team is looking at the interactions between oceans and climate in the modern and the past. We apply a diverse range of geochemical analyses to deep sea corals including uranium series, radiocarbon and trace metal approaches. The data reveal unique insights into the links between deep ocean biogeochemistry and global climate, as well as the vulnerability of deep-sea ecosystems in a changing world.
My research team works on interactions between groundwater biogeochemistry, hydrogeology and water-rock interactions, with a particular focus on carbonate systems. We couple fieldwork with process-based modelling, including fluid flow, geochemical and reactive transport modelling, to quantify key processes and evaluate fundamental controls. We study systems ranging from freshwater tufa and lake sediments to marine and evaporitic systems, using what we learn from modern systems to interpret the rock record and help manage aquifers and reservoirs.
Current Fellows
Dr Caitlyn Witkowski
I investigate the co-evolution of life and Earth, especially how climate, the carbon cycle, ecology, and depositional environments impact one another over geologic time using organic geochemistry and stable isotopes. My current focus is on Palaeozoic mass extinction events, looking for similarities that lead to radical and catastrophic moments in Earth history, relevant for our rapidly changing planet today.
Current postdoctoral researchers
Dr Simon Cheung
I am a microbial ecologist specialized in using molecular and bioinformatics techniques to examine the dynamics, determinants and roles of microbial communities in natural and host-associated environments.
Dr Jagannath Biswakarma
My research mainly couples environmental and geochemical observations to understand how minerals and contaminants cycle across different ecosystems under dynamic conditions.
Toby Halamka
I am a geomicrobiologist and organic geochemist who studies the relationship between microbial physiology and lipid biomarker distributions.
Dr Stefanie Hetz
I am an ecological microbiologist with a particular interest in soil microbiology and geomicrobiology.
Dr Yiming Zhang
I am an isotopic organic geochemist with a special interest in carbon cycling and microorganisms in carbon-rich ecosystems, particularly peatlands and wetlands. I study the microbial dynamics and carbon fate of peatlands under past and present scenarios of drought, warming, and anthropogenic disturbance. I trace microbial metabolism activities through the carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of microbial biomarkers, and explore the impact of microbial activities on carbon accumulation, greenhouse gas emissions, and dissolved organic carbon output in peatlands.
I am a marine microbiologist and organic geochemist. My research involves the reconstruction of marine biogeochemical cycles, in particular the N and C cycle. I currently focus on carbon isotopic fractionation in 'ancient' algae.
Current postgraduate research students
Bernát Hesler
Megan Jenkins
Amy Oakeshott
Nea Sneddon-Jenkins
Jingyi Wei
Tommaso Berbieri
Thibault Wuersch
Katie O'Neill
Anne Eberle
Katie Edwards
Mark Howson
Yizhou Huang
Tom Kibblewhite
Honorary Staff
I study the mechanics of large-scale continental deformation and the evolution of orogenic systems, including the Himalaya, the Andes, and the Western US Cordillera. Through an ongoing collaboration with the mining company, BHP, I have a particular interest in the tectonic controls on porphyry copper deposits.